Justice News

WASHINGTON– James White, 46, of Wilmington, Del., was sentenced today to 60 months in prison and five years of supervised release for receiving child pornography, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney David C. Weiss of the District of Delaware.

White pleaded guilty on May 18, 2010, to one count of receiving child pornography. According to court documents, White purchased membership access to various commercial child pornography websites over a three-year period. A search of his Wilmington residence on May 5, 2009, resulted in the seizure of computer equipment containing thousands of images and videos of child pornography that depicts the sexual abuse of prepubescent and teenage minors. White has been detained since his May 13, 2009, arrest.

The case arose from a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) nationwide investigation which began in 2005. The investigation focused on commercial websites offering access to videos and images of child pornography. The website alerted would-be subscribers that subscribing to the website was illegal and warned them to be discreet about their purchases. White purchased access to the websites on multiple occasions.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward J. McAndrew of the District of Delaware and Trial Attorney LisaMarie Freitas of CEOS. The case was investigated by ICE.